Prisoners Escape Through Tunnels Worldwide in 'Shawshank Redemption'-Style Breakouts...

30-50m Tunnel Dug Over 6 Months to 1 Year
Possible External Force Assistance Suspected
Tunnel Connected to Sewers...Management Lapses Pointed Out

A tunnel used by inmates of a prison in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, to escape. Photo by local media '360tv' screenshot.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] In recent days, prisoners around the world have been digging tunnels beneath prison grounds and successfully escaping one after another.

According to local media on the 24th, six prisoners serving sentences for serious crimes such as murder and drug offenses escaped collectively by digging a tunnel over 50 meters long at a prison in the Republic of Dagestan in southern Russia.

The correctional authorities only realized the existence of the tunnel and the collective escape of the six prisoners during a routine inspection on the evening of the 22nd (local time).

The tunnel is estimated to be over 50 meters long, as it extended beyond the prison fence. Curiosity is growing about what kind of equipment was used to dig the tunnel.

A tunnel believed to have been used by six inmates to escape from a prison in the Republic of Dagestan.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Given the large scale of the tunnel, it appears that the escaped inmates spent at least a year digging it.

Residents are trembling with anxiety and fear over what crimes the violent offenders, who were serving long sentences, might commit after their collective escape.

There are also suspicions from some quarters that external forces may have assisted in their escape. Local judicial authorities are investigating whether there were any lapses in the prison’s inmate management.

34 Inmates Tested Positive for COVID-19 Escape from Prison in Brazil

In the small prison located in Cambara, Paraná state, southern Brazil, a mass escape occurred on the 21st through a 30-meter-long tunnel.

The problem is that 34 of the escaped prisoners tested positive for COVID-19.

There is great concern not only about the possibility of reoffending but also about the risk of spreading COVID-19 to others.

The prison has a capacity of only 42 inmates and just three guards, but before the escape incident, the inmate population had swelled to 122, making management difficult.

Chinese National Caught for Drug Trafficking in Indonesia Escapes Through Sewer After 6 Months of Preparation. Photo by Tempo.

In Indonesia, a Chinese national named Cai Changpan (53), who was sentenced to death for drug trafficking, escaped by digging a hole in the prison floor and fleeing through the sewage system after six months.

Security camera footage outside the prison showed a man emerging from the sewage system and escaping at around 2:30 a.m. on the 14th.

Another inmate in the same cell, who was sentenced to 17 years for drug charges, did not escape but said, "Cai dug a hole in the cell floor for six months and invited me to escape together."

Correctional authorities estimate that Cai obtained a screwdriver and metal rods from the prison kitchen construction site and dug through the ground to the sewage pipe.

The joint investigation team of correctional authorities and police switched to a public manhunt after being unable to locate Cai’s whereabouts for a week.

Cai was arrested by local police in 2016 for smuggling 110 kg of methamphetamine (Philopon) into Indonesia.

Previously, on January 24, 2017, Cai had escaped from a detention center at a police station in East Jakarta by breaking through a bathroom wall with a metal rod.